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writing-prompt-s :
You are a superhero who joined a team for pay and benefits. However, the pay is minimum wage since you have no education and they made it so you are blackballed in the civilian world so you can’t work there either. So imagine their surprise when you joined the villain’s team.
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It's not that they're actually evil, I guess that means they're not technically villains, but they have views that they (some of which I agree with) truly believe would be helpful and good. They've grown tired of how hard it is to enact those ideas with purely good means, and have collectively decided that a few humans sacrificed to the cause wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. It's certainly interesting, interesting enough for me to join them, and they actually held an entire joining party, along with a bunch of things to sign, just for me and what I bring to the table. I do think they actually like me, and don't just see me for my usefulness, but I'm not certain, the news and whatnot call them "evil", so...
"Amazing work with that... The gun place, the name's slippin' me." A deep, smooth voice with a southern accent came from behind me. I snapped around and saw one of the more popular members of this group; Gunslinger, twirling the gun he always has with him, almost definitely older than himself, even though he looks pretty old. Well, not that old, but like, maybe his hair will start getting gray in a couple years here. He was the one who sent me on that mission, of course, and despite what it may seem, he desperately is reaching for a world where people don't need guns in their houses. The actual villains of the city, and the world, are far too prominent for that dream to actually exist now, but he believes in something. "You want a drink?"
"Not really." I say, deep in thought. I'm honestly not paying a whole lot of attention to exactly what he's saying, but the words are still heard.
"What're you sittin' at the bar for then?" He grabs a stool and sits next to me, putting his gun away. I'm still facing him, but my mind and focus are elsewhere. In my peripheral, I notice he slides some money onto the bar, and the bartender approaches.
"I'm just... There's a specific energy here that helps me think." I know, the opposite of what bars usually do. I turn back to looking down at the wood at the bar, covered in the weird plastic-y coating that most wood was covered in in buildings and such. Especially in restaurants. I don't know what it is, but I've noticed it's everywhere.
"You need to relax or something! I know it's not really in your nature to have a clear mind, but have you tried meditation?" An honestly good idea, if my mind wasn't always racing with thoughts. I give no response. "You might be the most useful person here! We need you to be okay."
"I am okay." I lie. Even a moment of clear mind would be greatly helpful. I've been thinking too much. About my past, about what people think of me... The public doesn't even know I'm a "villain". If I could stop thinking...
"Are you old enough to drink? No, no, it doesn't matter. It'll help, I'm sure!" The bartender deposits two glasses of some kind of alcohol next to us, in one fluid motion. I just look at the glass, a couple small bubbles floating up inside it, moisture collecting on the cold glass. I know with all certainty that I really shouldn't drink it, my mind trying hard to stop me from reaching for the glass, knowing it will taste horrible, and that with zero tolerance it'll have a larger effect on me than him. My hand reaches for the glass, almost moving on its own. It's not my mind that reaches for it, but my heart, longing for something to fill the void of simple pleasures I've been missing through all my thinking and caution.
"This is gonna taste awful..." I smile.
"It's an acquired taste!" He drinks his own, giving a hint of some face from the flavor, but not nearly as much as my face contorts, as I sip mine. Somewhere in my mind, the last real thought of the day, I know that I just need to take a moment to have fun. I have some big things coming up, I need to be happy.
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This one actually connects with the mind control one and the shovel one. If you know those. It's not obvious how or anything but it might be eventually. This guy might be an important character in a bigger story coming up eventually...
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